Rielle had recovered from her blow to the head while they ran from away from the Shoggoth. According to Jeremiah, the man carrying Rielle, it was one of three sighted Shoggoths that had been seen recently in the forest around Vargbunden. All of them were spawned from the same entity of the same name but of nearly cosmic power. Passing the time to the city’s walls, he explained how most people tried to flee if a Shoggoth appeared. If more than one occurred, it was one of the worst omen of doom imaginable other than a fully realized Demon Lord.
“Wow, that’s insane,” Rielle commented, gaze wandering back where they had come.
Jeremiah shrugged, “That’s just superstition. Shoggoths are like all other monsters; they just have more of themselves in the realm of spirit than other monsters. But…” he immediately hedged. “It is telling that even a newborn Shoggoth is the equivalent of a miniboss anywhere it spawns.”
“Oh yeah, it’s a menace. But,” one of the unnamed men stated. He then paused and hesitated to ask, “What happened to the fourth guy, the one with the hole in his chest?”
Colin sighed dramatically, “he… died. But, the good news is that the dumbass will respawn soon; he is an Outworlder.”
It wasn’t an entire lie. Colin and Larry had agreed to tell others that the Incubus Familiar was an Outworlder if it came up. Apparently, despite the game-like nature of this world, dead civilians did not naturally come back to life. Thus, their lie, and everyone in their group who knew Larry was a Demon, also understood it.
“Oh, well, that’s something,” Jeremiah replied noncommittally. Then he muttered under his breath, “Lucky.”
“So, is there a plan to deal with the thing?” Colin asked, looking between the small party that was escorting them. Looking around them, he added, “Or can I expect you all to stab us in the back?”
“Why would you say that, my friend?” laughed one of the unnamed ones around them.
“I think that it has something to do with how close you all are to a perfect encirclement pattern around us,” Mckenna pointed out. “There are five of you around us. With your current formation, one more right there, and you would be ready to overwhelm us with numbers.”
The unnamed one laughed again, “Hoooowee, that is pretty good. Yeah, we could, but why would we? You four fought the spirits and the Shoggoth with great skill. A little more power and preparation and maybe, just maybe, the little lady here could have actually damaged the thing,” He complimented Rielle.
“Oh, really, O’Keith?” Jeremiah drawled. “I highly doubt that. No offense to any of you, but there is a trick to fighting Shoggoths, and no one can figure it out. We’ve lost over twenty warriors since they took up residence in the forest and a whole lot more civilians. Do you remember the last statistic from the Guard Captain?”
“Eh, I thiiiiink,” O’Keith drew out the word, thinking about it. “Captain Charles said the total casualty was in the three hundred range.”
“Oh. Oh my,” Rielle breathed heavily.
“Oh yeah, it’s pretty terrible,” O’Keith nodded emphatically. “We are one of three groups trailing them and ensuring they don’t head towards the city. At least, until the coronation proceedings have been properly decided.”
“What does that mean?” McKenna asked them.
“Oh, there is a bit of a tale there. The short version is that the previous queen passed away a while back, and her grandson was about to take the throne when his sister and the granddaughter arrived in a burst of copper light. It was quite the spectacle. It almost doesn't matter who takes the throne at this point; one must step down to stabilize the surrounding lands; the throne's blessings will heal the land, given a little time.” Jeremiah nodded to himself as he finished speaking; he felt sure about this.
The others seemed less sure of this; their faces looked sullen and downcast as they kept an open eye.
“What makes you say that?” Colin asked curiously.
“Oh, Jeremiah here believes in the old prophecy,” O’Keith chortled. “Known him since he was shorter than me and believed in it more than the virtues of the gods.”
“Oooh, what prophecy?” McKenna asked, moving up next to O’Keith. “I love prophecies.”
As they walked the trail, a wall that seemed to be made of root and branch-covered stone peeked through the trees. It was a magnificent wall, not tall or powerful like the BriarThorn walls, but it contained a different strength. A power within the walls defied his standard logic, something that had to be magic and something else. The two other things synergized in the wall, making Colin’s eyes shimmer and make him want it for himself.
“Well, the prophecy,” Jeremiah started enthusiastically. “Tells of beings powerful enough to challenge the world order, things like the Shoggoths in power, but with actual will in their bodies. They called themselves gods, but he settled here for a time before disappearing through a cut in the world he created. A sword slick with the lifeblood of a dozen men remained on the blade when he sheathed it. The whole story is long, full of poetry, betrayal, love, danger, an epic old boss battle, and the consecration of the lards that had given us prosperity for a long time.”
“But?” Rielle urged.
“But it ended with the words the man said before he disappeared. It’s cryptic even to this day,” Jeremiah sighed as they approached a gate in the wall. His voice became that of an older man, with his every word profound, “Though I leave, I promise that this land has not seen the end of me. One day, when demons roam this land, and the lords of chaos come to this land, one shall face me. On that day, I shall return.” He finished with a note of finality.
He then shrugged and opened his mouth to speak, only to be interrupted by one of the two gate guards who stood by the portcullis blocking access to the gate. The two guards wore a mix of leather and steel plates that seemed standard for the role of guardsman, just with different styles. These appeared to favor the colors green and brown. One of the guards with a cleanly trimmed mustache walked forward and smiled brightly, “Jerry, telling that old story again?” the Guard chuckled.
Jeremiah looked a little sheepish at the Guard, rubbing the back of his neck as he said, “Well, you know.”
“Yeah, we do,” the Guard’s laughed. “Alright, who are these three,” he gestured with his spear towards them.
“We found them after they had met up with one of our long-term guests,” O’Keith stated with his brand of humor. “The young Fey girl was hitting with everything she had, and Jerry swears that she almost damaged it.”
“I think she almost did!” he proclaimed, turning his face to Rielle and giving her a wink. “I don’t know how she did it, but it looked like she started to puncture its skin.”
“Oh, that’s a good one, Jerry,” the man laughed, wiping his forehead with a giant smile. “But what’s the plan? Where are you taking them?” The Guard questioned, looking at the three of them dubiously before aiming that look at Jerry.
“I was going to take them to see the princess,” Jerry told him. “You know she has that standing order. Besides, there are only three places I can take them due to all the decree’s going on.”
The dubious look dropped, and he suddenly became more serious, “Are you sure? I think one of them does not like the idea of being told what to do.”
Jerry frowned, returning to look at the three of them. Rielle looked confused and followed his gaze as he inspected them. The one with the War Gaff did not look happy, but not enough to alarm him. No, it was the man who did not appear pleased with this scenario.
“Jeremiah, where are you taking us?” Colin asked, a menacing glare in his eyes.
Jeremiah smiled at Colin, resisting the urge to reach for his weapon, “following orders, Walker. I am taking you to the Guard House for a little while to ensure you are not a risk to the city before we take you before the Princess. She was the last to order outsiders to be taken before her, not the Prince.”
“And why didn’t you tell us before?” Colin asked him, hands flexing a little. “I thought you were escorting us back to the city in good faith.”
“DevilWalker, it is just standard procedure. OutWorlders and outsiders have tendencies that have caused some problems. I promise you, come with us, and this whole thing can be sorted out quickly since you were fighting the Shoggoth,” Jerry promised, a placating smile playing across his mouth.
“Why didn’t you tell us this in the first place?” Colin questioned, a slight snarl playing in his voice.
“Because of this,” he carefully gestured to Colin’s body. “Every Outworlder we have met did not like being told what to do or to be patient. I hope you understand; I respect that you fought our monsters; just please calm down.”
Colin took one deep breath; in that breath, he saw them tense up and reach for their weapons but did not draw them. These men were well-trained and reacted well, and Colin observed their discipline. None were triggered enough by his aggression to draw their weapons; he could respect that.
When he released his breath, he nodded, “Fair enough, as long as you promise not to make us wait long, we have things to do.”
Nodding, Jerry’s light demeanor was gone, replaced with a serious man doing a job. “Alright, Kerne, can we please go through?”
The Guard Kerne nodded, taking three steps forward, looking up the wall, and waving.
A high-pitched and sharp whistle rang through the area; then, there was silence for a moment. Colin counted from the whistle; at around thirty, the door slowly opened, allowing them to see the inside of the city.
The city was a mix of immaculate marble, creeper vines, and stained wood lining every unnatural surface. The road just past the gate turned from dirt to marble brick, each loosely carved with symbols Colin recognized from Hel’s temple in GrimHold. Each building in sight was half made from polished and carved marble with stained and tempered wood covering the rest. Vines stuck to every surface, creating an impression of nature blending in with that city. But all this felt a little too romantic, a little too fantastic. Especially compared to everything he had learned about the magic affecting the land.
“Alright, Walker, come on,” Jerry urged, walking ahead and leading them inside.
Colin said nothing, following three steps behind the man and keeping his hands purposefully away from his belt and his weapons. McKenna did not share his inclination; a hand rested on the war gaff she had put away on her back as she moved up to Colin and stood beside him.
“What’s the plan here, Colin?” She questioned, keeping her voice to a low and quiet hiss. “Why are we following them to jail?”
His gaze on her was stern and severe, “We’ll talk once we’re there. Trust me.”
Her lips curled into a feral smile, and she nodded, removing her hand from her War Gaff and keeping her head on a swivel while the large city gates closed behind them.
Mckenna had barely waited a minute after the men closed the heavy grated door that locked them in before talking. “Okay, now will you tell me why you let them lock us in without a fight? Worse, you let them leave with our weapons!” she griped, pacing the room as she fumed.
Overall, The room was nice for a prison, jail, or dungeon. The floor was a clean gray stone, likely granite, and shaded daylight came in from the southern wall, giving them all light to see. A pair of bunkbeds sat against opposite walls for residents to sleep in, and a curtained partition was set to allow them to use the single toilet in the space. That was probably not a good idea, but Colin assumed there was likely magic at work to keep them doing anything beyond elimination in there.
“Wait one moment,” Colin told them. Walking up the grate, he said, “I am a Demon Lord! I am here to kill all of you and lay waste to your city.”
There was a long moment when McKenna and Rielle gave Colin looks, asking him if he was insane—seconds passed before someone yelled back.
“What was that?! Quit your yapping and shut up! Someone will be by soon. Just relax!” then the sound of a heavy wooden door slammed, and Colin nodded.
“If we had tried to fight them, we would have lost,” Colin answered. “Even with everything that we prepared before coming here and all of us working together, they would have killed us.”
Colin began ticking off points on his hands, “They had us surrounded until we walked in here. They all out-leveled us by at least seven levels. Worse, it would have been a fair fight, and I would have had to show off my newest tools,” he groaned and huffed. “I’m already unhappy I wasted that Centipede Chimera I made to ward off that Shoggoth. If I am lucky, it did not die.”
“Okay,” Rielle asked, sounding resigned. She curled into herself a little, sitting on the edge of the bunk bed and hugging her knees as if it comforted her. “Then what can we do now, Walker? I don’t want to wait here for them. I don’t want to be under the thumb of Fey Masters again.”
“Yeah, what is the Plan?” McKenna asked, keeping her voice low but still making it sound menacing.
Colin raised a finger in a ‘hold on’ gesture and reached into his pocket. He withdrew a few stiff figurines of monstrous forms that were Chimerized. He put them back into his pocket one at a time until he was left with one in the palm of his hand.
“Ladies, we have three choices here,” Colin told them. “First is the simplest option; we wait for someone to return and fulfill their word. We use this little guy to break out of here and get our stuff. Or three, we wait until I can resummon Larry.”
“Won’t work,” Rielle told him dryly. “This place is enchanted to prevent spacial or dimensional travel, in or out. Familiar Summoning cannot be done in this building.”
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Colin nodded, “good to know. So, should I use this little guy or wait for the guards to”
“Use it,” McKenna told him sternly. “Seriously, I’m surprised you are even asking us.”
“Okay,” Colin said, closing his fist around the miniature. It broke in his hand, and the pieces fell to the ground, the crumbled pseudo-wood disintegrating and coalescing into a beast.
The creature was only a foot tall and had the lower body of a furry brown spider and the top half of a crazed-looking imp thing. It did not look exactly like an imp, almost like an imp's cousin covered in moles and burn scars. All while having a pasty white complexion and fingers that looked uncomfortably like more spider legs. Its lower half below its waist was replaced with that of a furry brown spider. It opened its mouth to reveal teeth alongside mandibles.
“Ewww,” McKenna said, stepping away from the Chimeric Imp and staying farther away. “What can it do to help us?”
“Oh, not a lot in fighting,” Colin admitted, smiling down at his monster. “But it has several utilities. First and foremost is that it can phase through solid matter.”
“What?!” Rielle and McKenna said, almost in sync.
“Oh yeah,” he nodded, proud of this particular creature. “It was how this thing took traits from both monsters. The Phase Spider and the Blink Imp Chimerized strangely, their main powers synergizing,” Colin explained. “Now I have this beauty, My Phase ArachnImp!” he proclaimed quietly.
“Well, what are we waiting for? Let's use it and get out of here,” McKenna told him, forgetting her disgust instead of its usefulness. “Let’s go through there, get our gear, and go to the palace.”
“That’s the problem, Honey,” Colin said, bending down and extending an arm for the ArachnImp. The little spider/ demon fusion climbed up his arm and rested on his back as he continued. “This guy can only Phase one person at a time, and it exhausts him. So, whoever it phases will have to go get out stuff and use it to get us out of here. It has to be me; my Infernal Edge can likely cut through this easily enough.”
“What about me, Walker,” Rielle asked, standing from the bed and walking over to him. “I can get you your sword, and then you can cut through it. My Stealth Skill is higher than yours, right?”
Colin nodded and admitted that she had a point; she was mulling it over when there was a knock at the barred window.
“Hello Strangers! I hear that you all fought a Shoggoth; is that correct?” the man said as they turned to face him. Whoever he was, he had dark skin, a highly bushy black beard, and piercing red eyes that somehow spoke of mischief within the unnatural color. From their angle, the man wore a heavy trench coat with a hood over his head and a thick wool shirt stained scarlet.
“And who’s asking?” McKenna asked immediately. “And you better tell the truth because I am kinda pissed that we were locked here in the first place. I’m liable to go on a hunt later if you are jerking us around,” she spat.
“Me? Perhaps I am your salvation,” he said with jaunty humor. “But from what I hear, you three were about to get yourselves out of here. Is that right? Oh, please stop glaring; I don’t plan on turning you in,” he raised his hands placatingly at McKenna and Colin.
“Then why are you here?” Riella asked, approaching the cell window.
“Don’t get too close,” Colin warned.
“Please don’t be like that,” the Stranger stated. “Seriously, I came to offer help if needed. A lot is happening in town, and I am looking for resourceful partners. Dangerous ones, too. If you fought a Shoggoth and lived, you are lucky, resourceful, or powerful. Whichever you are, it does not matter. But we could use some help; maybe I could help you in exchange. Why are you here in Vargbunden?”
Rielle looked to Colin, shrugged, giving her the go-ahead gesture, and took a step forward.
“We heard a legend that something we seek is here. We heard that the royals have access to a portal to access the island of Lyngvi, and we want to enter it,” Rielle added. “And sooner rather than later.”
“Well, that is something. Few beyond the royals, their advisors, and the Royal guards know of its name; they know it exists. At least, in legend,” the Stranger’s smile grew wide as he continued. “I think I can help you, but before I do, I should, in good faith, tell you that if you wait here, the guards will give you passage to speak to the Princess. So you can either break out and come with me, let me break you out, or wait patiently for a while. It is your choice, and I will honor it, but I recommend you choose soon.”
“Why? Why can’t we choose later and search the city to find you to ask you for help later? Rielle questioned.
“And why would I extend it to you still?” He asked her quizzically. “Why, after you already refused me, would you think I would allow you to help me? Or do you think I would help you?”
Mckenna leaned close to Colin, whispering to keep Rielle from hearing, “This feels like a scripted NPC. You know, someone they put in place in case a Player gets caught. Many games do this to keep players moving and not waste their time.”
Colin needed to be more sure. “I don’t know,” he comments, looking at Rielle. “The NPCs here are incredibly real and individualized. I’m not so sure this is scripted. Or, if it is, they did an excellent job creating an NPC with personality. I mean, look at him.”
McKenna looked at the man stroking and running his fingers through his beard as he seemed to consider Rielle. “Yeah, and what does it change if this is scripted?”
Shrugging, he said, “Oh, it changes nothing. But it does make me cautious. Could you distract him for a moment? Tell him we’ll accept, but I’m going to get out of her while he isn’t looking,” Colin told her.
“Good!” he announced happily. “And don’t worry about secrets; you can keep them,” he said to their surprised looks. “I am just going to take up a perch underneath the restaurant across the way. The Bored Boar, you can’t miss it,” The Stranger said, walking away, letting out one more phrase as a warning before he left.
“Oh, and I would recommend that you hurry up and get out of there. The prince regents' men will be here soon, and if they are his Gold Squad, then you will not be able to fight them.”
And with that, he was gone, disappearing into the midday light surrounding the windows outside.
“So, what are we going to do, really?” McKenna asked. “I don’t trust him; his timing was a little too convenient, even if it was likely scripted.”
“And if it was too convenient, what other choices do we have?” Rielle pushed. “I don’t know if there is another option. Especially if the Prince guy is sending men over to us here. And why would the Prince do that at all?”
“I don’t know,” Colin admitted. “But I should inform you both that I am tired of being treated like sheep, herded around, and ordered about why dogs with nips and barks. So, for now, I want to get out of here and talk to that guy and see what he says. But either way, we are seeing the Princess today.”
“Bold declaration,” McKenna nodded. “Then you better get going.”
Colin turned towards the grate and caught Rielle in his peripheral vision. She looked like she still wanted to go in his place, most likely because her Stealth Skill was higher. But there was one detail he wasn’t sure she had considered. The weapon most likely to cut through this grate was his Lesser Infernal Edge, and she was not likely able to wield it due to its infernal nature.
Then, breathing in and out once in preparation to look fantastic or foolish, he walked towards the grate. The ArchnImp on his back wrapped its spider legs around his torso and filled his body with weird sensations. It felt like his entire body was tingling and vibrating while it warmed to the point he wished he could remove his jacket.
And before he knew it, the sensation passed, and Colin found himself on the other side of the grate. He looked back at the two women inside the cell, gave them a thumbs up, and hurried down the hall, away from them.
It only took him a minute to find where he assumed their stuff was kept. About twenty paces around the corner and down the hall, he saw a door marked ‘Detainee Asset Holdings,’ a lovely way to say, prisoner. He looked at the door and considered his options. Something about this door made him hesitate to do anything to it. A feeling that was akin to when he felt magic but much more specific.
A cursory glance told him what he was feeling were the enchantments carved into the door. There were a lot of them, which made sense. He did not recognize many of the Sigils on the door, but one he recognized on the handle made him think it was some alarm. The one on the lock seemed hostile and paired with… something. Colin could guess it was the key. There were also traps, strengthening magicks, and more alarms embedded into the door's wood.
So Colin patted the side of his hip to get the ArchnImp's attention, and it scurried up his back to look over his shoulder. It glanced at the door and shook its head furiously.
“What, not there?” he asked, getting a nod. He took one big step to the right and pointed at the wall three feet from the door. “How about there?”
The ArachnImp leaned in a little from on top of his shoulder and glared at the wall. Imp teeth and spider fangs extended from its mouth as it stared either deep in concentration or hungrily at the wall. After nearly a minute, the ArchnImp nodded.
Nodding at the Chimera, Colin walked towards the wall confidently in his stride as he walked forward. But there was no accompanying sense of vibration or heat as he approached the wall, and before he knew it, he walked into it face first.
He suppressed a groan and rubbed at his face as the ArachnImp chittered audibly behind him. Colin takes the noise for laughter and grits his teeth as he rubs his face. “You were supposed to phase me through the wall,” he hissed. “Can you please phase me through the wall?”
The ArachnImp nodded, and Colin felt the tingle of its magic coursing through him, but he refused to take the step until he sensed the warmth. Once it did, he walked through the wall and found himself in a mostly bare room besides shelves, baskets, and cages. What little was in there took up most of a shelf unit, but it contained all McKenna’s, Rielle’s, and his belongings.
He had just picked up his Ravenous Mythic Xiphos from its place on the shelf when he heard footsteps coming from down the hall. He cursed and hurried the gathering further along; this was either bad or very bad; there was likely no chance that this was a good thing to have anyone walk down the hall. He began shoving everything into his Dimensional Bag. When someone stopped at the door, he strapped the Lesser Infernal Edge to his belt.
He heard the men at the door talking simultaneously as a set of keys were jangling in one of their hands.
“Sir, I don’t know who these people say they are or why they are here. We should not let them go.”
“And why is that?”
“One of them has two pieces of equipment that are particularly nasty. A Xiphos that looks like it wants to eat me and a Trench Knife that radiates infernal magicks.”
“Infernal, really? Is that why you brought me all the way here? Young Fennis, you know that this whole thing here is protocol; they will be let loose soon once the prince regents men get here. I was just informed that they were on their way.”
“But Sir, just look at these weapons, Sir. They’re evil, I swear.”
“Very well, but we will not be confiscating them. We will make not of their nature, if any, and report them to Gold Squad once they arrive.”
“Yes, Sir.”
A key slid into the lock and twisted with a heavy click. Groaning, Colin quickly looked to confirm that there was no place to hide. He quickly checked the ArachnImp and sighed; the little guy was asleep and in no state to do almost anything.
But something about looking at the spider demon chimera gave him a thought. He looked up and found beams stretching across the rafters, open instead of closed off like he would have suspected.
Colin activated Kinetic Vigor and used every level of his single-digit Acrobatics skill to leap up on top of the bookshelves and then onto the beams further up yet. He made no extraneous noise as far as he could tell, just a light shuffling that he hoped had not been heard from that closed door, and internally groaned as the beam underneath him creaked.
“What was that?” one of the men said. The one still holding the keys and rushing into the room, looking left and right with great determination. “I thought I heard something in here.”
“Yeah, but it was probably just a rat or something small. Pay it no mind,” the other man said. They wore dark brown leather, but each had metal plates and bands covering several vital spots. Nothing was particularly noteworthy about either of them except that the one with the keys looked much younger than the other. “Show me these weapons, and let's go.”
Nope, he was made. The biggest thing he needed was time to get McKenna and Rielle out; the most efficient way to gain more time was to make it.
It was after a quick application of his Inspire Mental Spell that he got an idea. And it was a reminder that he had to create nonlethal ways to stop people soon.
Moving decisively, Colin leaped down from the rafters and aimed Stunning Slap Spells at the two men.
Both men froze, body going painfully rigid and contorting with the stun. He quickly pulled the keys out of the younger ones' hands and tried to make sure neither saw his face or any features. He had no idea if he was successful on that attempt, but he did know that he managed to get the keys and ran out the door.
With a manic grin, he closed the door and locked it behind him. The Stunn effect would only last for another second or three, so he ran back to the cell where the two women waited for him. McKenna stared at him with a knowing look, and Rielle looked worried.
“SNAFU?” McKenna asked critically.
“Yeah.”